Tag: Book Reviews

I took the last few days to catch up on some reading.  I read Another Hill to Climb, by Bo Ryan, Wisconsin’s successful basketball coach, Rome 1960 by David Maraniss, about the 1960 Olympics and how they changed the world and In Defense of Food, a critique of the Western Diet, by Michael Pollan.

Another Hill to Climb is the story of how Bo Ryan became a successful Big Ten basketball coach.  Its not particularly well written, but its an interesting, quick read nonetheless.  Ryan is an interesting character in the college basketball world because he comes from a very humble background and still is quite humble today.  He is willing to speak his mind when he thinks that something is unfair and has lots of funny stories about growing up in Chester, PA and moving up through the coaching ranks.   He shows the amount of dedication necessary to be successful in college coaching and believes that his lessons can be used in other professions.  I think he is right.  If you are a basketball fan, check out this book.

Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World is David Maraniss’ newest book and is just as interesting as his previous works.  He tells the story of the 1960 Olympics, set against the backdrop of the cold war, the civil rights movement and weaves individual stories about athletes, organizers and politicians.  1960 was the first televised Olympics and the last olympics where athletes were supposed to be completely nonprofessionals.  The 1960 Olympics had the world’s first doping scandal and the first sub sarahan-African to win  a gold medal.  I never thought a history book could be a page turner until I read Maraniss’ They Walked Into Sunlight, but his books are.  I found myself reading an extra chapter when I was about to go to bed because I wanted to know who won the 1960 100m gold medal.  If you enjoy history, check out this book.  If you have never read any of Maraniss, check out They Walked into Sunlight, Clemente or his Vince Lombardi biography.  I highly recommend any of them.

Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food is the following to his first book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which narrowly missed out on being one of my favorite books of 2008.  In Defense of Food is interesting because Pollan attacks the idea that we can eat food based on nutrition, instead of being just food.  He traces the origin of the Western Diet, high in dairy, meat and refined carbohydrates, and why it is bad for you.  Its amazing that an apple today has 33% the nutrients that an apple did in 1950.  There are plenty of other examples in the book.

He also talks about how we got to where we are and how we can fix our diet moving forward.  Its not a dull as it seems, as Pollan is a journalist by trade and includes lots of amusing anecdotes in his writing.  If you enjoy food or want to learn more about why Americans’ diet, check this book out.

I just finished reading Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Life in LA by Luis Rodriguez.  It is a memoir that Rodriguez started when he was 16 and is  about his life growing up as a member in one of the most vicious gangs in LA.  It is a window into a life that I am very glad that I never had to experience.  His feelings of neglect, isolation and rejection come tearing off the pages as his life spirals downward and he decides to leave school to join a gang full time.

His battles with drugs, alcohol, inhalants, violence, abusive police, racism, rival gangs and most of all, his family, are constant reminders about the life Rodriguez once lived and eventually escaped.

At first, his decision to join a gang baffled me.  It is evident from the beginning of the book that Rodriguez is smart kid.  It is also clear that he wants to be successful and will work hard to improve his chances at success, but for a long time, he does not.  He falls into gangs, drugs, crime and depression.

Its scary to think how easy it was for someone as brilliant and talented as Rodriguez to succumb to the gang lifestyle, even when he was smarter than most of his peers.  He was talented enough to do well in school, but did not. What does this example say about kids with lower intelligence or talent levels from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds?  If the smartest kid falls into gangs, the outlook must be even more dismal for the other, less talented kids.

Rodriguez’s thesis is that all kids, even smart kids, who feel isolated will try to carve out an existence for themselves.  In many cases in poor communities, the only niche available is gang life.  Rodriguez argues that the solution is creating opportunities and bringing disadvantaged kids in from isolation.  After reading the book, I think that I gained a new perspective on how many people in this country continue to feel on a daily basis.

I would highly recommend reading Always Running.